Arrival in Dubai

Got in to the hostel (not hotel) at about midnight last night.Everything went smoothly on the trip. I got up early for breakfast and,luckily, met an American instructor who immediately took me under her wings and told me I absolutely had to come to campus this morning to get things going because the people here are very nice but a bit unorganized. She was correct on both accounts. However, I'm quickly learning the ropes and this, I think, will be a nice experience.

The trip has been a learning experience so far. First, I thought Internet was widely available in all airports now. I was correct, but it is not free. So I connected with the Wi-Fi in both Detroit and Amsterdam only to find that there was a substantial charge. Amsterdam airport was a different experience and a bit in efficient in that, eventhough you have cleared security at your origination, you clear it againat the gate. That means that every gate has its own x-ray and security checkers. A bit of redundancy in my book.



I got in Dubai at 10 local last night and it was 95 degrees. I assumed the dessert would be a dry heat but that's wrong because its right on the water. Next I went to passport control to get my visa as instructed by S. P. Jain. After waiting in line for 15 minutes, I found that there was no visa waiting for me. That's the bad news, the good news is thatyou don't need one unless you're working for a year or more. Next I went to immigration and they cleared me for a 60 day stay. I tried to get a bit of UAE money in both Detroit and Amsterdam but they had none in Detroit and I couldn't find an exchange in Amsterdam.The bag was waiting by the time I got to baggage claim and my driver waswaiting outside with no problems.




It was dark on the trip in and I didn't see anything. I was dropped off at the hostel and unpacked, read a bit, and then slept, setting my alarm for 6 because breakfast was to be at 7. I went to the room where breakfast was to be at 7, which is also apparently the living quarters of the hostel manager, and found two people sleeping in bed and nothing else. I went back later and that is where I met the American and two Indian instructors. They are all finishing up today. One of the Indian instructors (and you will notbelieve this) is teaching global HR and immediately indicated that he had my book. The other Indian teaches marketing and the American teaches logistics.



We are supposed to go to a shopping center tonight that is located adjacent to the new 7 star hotel but I just received word that there may be a transportation problem. The people here take care of transportation and, apparently, will take you on side trips should you wish. I tagged along with the instructors to the campus this morning and am now situated in my office. I have received my food allowance which was 50% more than the contract stated but I really don't know how much that is. I now have 900 dirhams in my pocket.




I met the course coordinatorf or the course and she really will take care of most everything but the instruction. The tests are done online and corrected automatically.The research papers are done online and I correct them online also. Now here comes the disorganized part. I was never provided a teaching schedule even though I asked for it a number of times. The latest email/contract I got, which was on last Thursday, indicated that thet eaching schedule would be provided two days prior to the start of the class. Since I am under contract for 7/14 - 7/20, I assumed I'd be teaching through 7/20 and made arrangements accordingly. Wrong, I am done on Friday at Noon. Actually, that might work OK because I might be able to complete most of the grading before I leave. I do not think thefinal exam will be given until sometime later but it will be done online and not a problem.



The only interesting thing I've seen so far was driving is to the campus this morning. There were probably 50 camels grazing in a vacant field by a four lane highway. I didn't see any fences to contain them and I wouldn't want to hit them at 60 miles an hours. I'm going back to the hostel in a little bit to work on getting ready for Monday and to take a nap. I hadn't planned to come to the campus today, just to get breakfast and do a bit of work and deal with jet lag. I'm a little tired and will take a nap this afternoon assuming that we're going shopping/dinner later on.